Young parents or grandparents shopping for walkers, high chairs, strollers, rockers, car beds, car seats, cribs, carriages, chairs, swings, bathinettes and other baby holding and amusement devices are certain to experience frustration and confusion in trying to decide on their purchase. They are confronted with an almost endless choice of individual items of specific function and utility. If storage facilities and expense are of no great concern, they might buy all of the above items; all are important at one time or another for utilitarian and/or amusement purposes. But what of the great masses of parents to whom money and storage space are major problems? Obviously, those living in apartments and under strict budgets cannot afford all of the above items. It is to these parents of average means and limited storage space that the present invention is primarily directed.
The present invention provides a unique joint which may be used as part of a system with one, two or three or more different child holding devices or carriers and various wheeled or wheeless supports or bases therefor. The system comprising the above components are relatively inexpensive and require significantly less storage space as compared with the many individual items mentioned above and provide all of the needs and functions of such individual items, and more.
Furthermore, with respect to walkers for prewalking children, those available until now have been useful primarily in allowing the child to move from one point to another providing minimal amusement to the child.
The unique joint or stem of the invention when employed in a walker makes available to the child seated therein not only locomotion but almost endless variations on motion and amusement as well. As will be seen hereinafter, the walker incorporating the unique joint of the invention will rock, bounce up and down, sway or swing from side to side and back and fourth, tilt and be positioned at any desired angle between horizontal and vertical and back to its normal vertical position, and turn or spin 360.degree. in either direction. The parent may lock the walker in any desired altitude including in a normal locked position so that the walker functions strictly as does a conventional walker or even in a rigid position where no movement of any kind is desired.
Accordingly, it is seen that the unique joint of the invention when employed in a walker or other type system will provide an economical solution and substitute for the myriad types of child holding and amusement apparatus usually required for the average active, curious child.